In Germany’s capital — and in cities as diverse as Hong Kong and Chicago — raising bees on rooftops and in small gardens has become increasingly popular, as urban beekeepers find they can reconnect with nature and maybe even make a profit.READ THE e360 REPORT

researchers from the University of Sussex warn that too many hives can be a dangerous thing. Writing in The Biologist, the magazine of the Society of Biology, they suggest that inexperienced beekeepers can create conditions in which there isn’t enough food for their insects. “If there are too many colonies in an area, then the food supply will be insufficient,” Francis Ratnieks, a professor at the university’s Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, told the BBC. “This will mean that colonies do not thrive, and may also affect other species that also visit flowers.” In addition, the presence of too many colonies managed by novice beekeepers can promote the spread of contagious diseases. More than 33 percent of Britian’s honeybee colonies were lost last winter, although the exact causes are not known.